BSBWOR502 LEAD AND MANAGE TEAM

EFFECTIVENESS

LEARNER GUIDE
TOPIC 3 – FACILITATE TEAMWORK
 TOPIC 3 – FACILITATE TEAMWORK

ENCOURAGE TEAM MEMBERS AND INDIVIDUALS TO

PARTICIPATE IN AND TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR
TEAM ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING COMMUNICATION
PROCESSES
Working effectively as a team involves a large variety of activities. As a manager, each person
should be encouraged to participate in the team and work towards the common team, division
and organisational goals or objectives.
In our last section we talked about developing team cohesion, supporting team members
through coaching and mentoring as well as acting on any issues or concerns that may arise as
the team works through their daily activities.

ENCOURAGING TEAM MEMBERS AND INDIVIDUALS

A manager needs to be constantly encouraging to their team. At times it can be very difficult
when they may be having a bad day themselves, however acting as a role model for the team is
such an important component of being a good leader. It encourages team members when they
see their manager acting responsibly and enthusiastically towards tasks which may otherwise
seem insurmountable. ‘
It is also encouraging when a manager rewards a team member for the achievements, no matter
how small. Team rewards don’t have to be large. They can be as simple as:
• Stopping at the local cake store and brining something for morning tea.
• Stopping for a break and saying thank you for a task achieved.
• Organising a team outing for dinner or lunch.
• Meeting within individuals for coffee to say thank you.
• Having a reward program or other activity.`

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN THE TEAM

Acting and taking responsibility within a team can be difficult for some team members,
particularly if they have been used to working elsewhere on their own.

Working in a team has its own issues, but it also has rewards, however it takes all team
members to make sure that it works effectively for the common good. A productive project team
is a good example of where this can really work well to achieve the project objectives.

Each team member needs to ensure they firstly understand what their role is within the team.
They may have a specific technical role which other members of the team done have, however
they will still be expected to work within the team and work together. Not working together and

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supporting one another inevitably can lead to failure of projects and goals.

Taking responsibility may encompass the following:

1. Supporting the team by taking on tasks when a team member is on leave.
2. Putting aside your own tasks and assisting another team member to complete theirs if
they are more urgent.
3. Ensuring that all team members know the rules, protocols and procedures necessary to
support the team.
4. Orienting a new member to the team.
5. Encouraging team members and supporting them when they are under pressure.
6. Ensuring that the manager knows if there is an issue that needs addressing within the
team.
7. Keeping a positive attitude and outlook for the common good of the whole team.

ESTABLISHING RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

We talked previously about performance management and how it should be linked to KPI’s. We
also discussed the idea that we should link KPI’s to supporting improvement processes. In the
previous section we also discussed communication and its’ importance in working with all
persons involved in the improvement process to support what is needed to be done as well as
communicating any progress.

We should therefore ensure that there is, again, a specific process for making sure that all team
members who are involved in the continuous improvement are kept informed of the progress as
well as the outcome of their efforts. These processes should include regular communications to
team members and include:
• Face to face meetings
• Emails, fax or similar non - verbal contact
• Reward and recognition of progress of improvement
• Staff celebrations
• Regular reports to executive on the progress of implementation of the improvement.

SUPPORT THE TEAM IN IDENTIFYING AND

RESOLVING WORK PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS

IDENTIFYING WORK PROBLEMS

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Often identifying a work problem may not be as simples as one may think. A manager may
recognise that something is not working well, or that there is a problem somewhere, but
identifying the issue can be tricky!

IDENTIFYING CAUSE AND EFFECT OF ISSUES WHICH NEED ADDRESSING

These are a simple tool which will show the cause of a problem and the effect They may be done
by the team as a whole through brainstorming, or simply by the manager. It will depend upon
the depth of the problem as to who does this. If necessary, more senior managers may also be
involved.

Often it is not until issues are encountered within the workplace that it identifies that work
areas need improving. In order to support the identification of what went wrong, it is necessary
to use the “cause and effect” idea. This is where the cause of an issue is brainstormed as well as
what the effect would be. A process to then make improvements to the issues will assist the
activity to work more smoothly.

FISHBONE DIAGRAMS.

Monitoring of the implementation of the changes to systems will show whether the new system
has improved the process. By reviewing progress through regular monitoring and reporting on
progress, it allows managers to see whether the implementation has been successful. Where
monitoring shows little or no improvement and KPI’s are not being met, then it’s time to go back
to the drawing board and brainstorm reasons behind the lack of improvement. There may be
various reasons why and these need to also be reviewed. Problems may be due to either
internal or external influences and need to be mapped so that they can be reviewed and risks
reduced.

Without this continual monitoring of progress, systems can also fail because people human
nature often reverts to old habits.

CREATING KPI’S
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The creation of a KPI to measure the implementation of the system may be something that
needs to be discussed with executive but should include a measurement tool to show progress.
See over the page for some examples.

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Examples may be:
System improvement How monitored Measurement (KPI)

E.g.; improvement to paper Monitored through review of 20% reduction of timeframe

flow timeframe taken to complete to complete paperwork
paperwork noted

E.g.; customer service Number of complaints which 90% reduction in complaints

occur as result of
improvement

E.g.; widgets produced number of widgets counted 50% improvement

at end of day which have
been produced

PERIODIC MONITORING:

Periodic monitoring involves making comparisons between physical achievements and

programme targets and between financial expenditure and budgets at the end of specified time
periods, for example, monthly, three-monthly or longer intervals.

CONTINUOUS MONITORING:

Continuous monitoring is applied frequently to specified key indicators which enables

information on plan implementation to be collected often, such as at weekly intervals.

Continuous monitoring provides a forest manager with the means of applying close control over
forest operations enabling frequent comparisons to be made between planned programmes and
inputs of resources with actual achievements and inputs. This is increasingly important in both
State and company enterprises where budget constraints in forest management require tight
expenditure control.

Monitoring operational achievements based on the implementation of prescriptions set out in

the forest management plan, recording achievements and reporting these to a director of forest
operations establishes a basis for transparent accountability of management. The prescriptions
in a forest management plan must be clear so that progress can be measured and reported.” 1

RESOLVING WORK PROBLEMS

The resolution of work performance problems should be swift and as simple as possible. Where
necessary, action should occur without delay as previously discussed.

1 (Forestry Department)
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 ENSURE OWN CONTRIBUTION TO WORK TEAM
SERVES AS A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHERS AND
ENHANCES THE ORGANISATION’S IMAGE FOR ALL
STAKEHOLDERS

ACTING AS A ROLE MODE

There is a misconception that managers are leaders or leaders are managers. Leaders, and
managers are entirely different people, as their roles and responsibilities are altogether
different.

A definition of manager is "managers work toward the organisation's goals using its resources
in an effective and efficient manner” They are responsible for supervising people and activities
and productivity of their teams and play an important role in managing the performance of their
staff.

Managers are also involved in employee selection; career development, succession planning,
execution, monitoring, evaluation, and working out compensation and rewards as well as the
growth and increase in the organisations' finances and earnings.
A manager’s qualities may include:

PLANNER

A manager makes organisational decisions and handles a variety of problems that arise on a
daily basis,creating choices and alternative courses of actions to solve them.
It involves thinking and planning out strategies on how to improve quality and also being cost
conscious and effective.

GOAL SETTER

Managers needs to be able to set goals plan directions, execute these within set timeframes and
show results.

COACH

Guiding and giving direction to the team, supporting them and coaching them to perform
effectively is a manager’s role. The performance of your teams depends upon your ability to
empower them.How well a member performs depends upon the motivation given by the boss. A
manager needs to encourage and inspire others to improve the quality of their work, and even
themselves as well as instil the desire to excel and accept responsibility.

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Medix2 suggest that being a good role model includes the following:

ATTIRE

If you establish the dress code as business professional yet you frequent the office in a polo and
khakis, you are projecting the wrong image to your employees. From casual “shirt and jeans”
workplaces to “suits and shined shoes” offices, no matter what the office dress code, employees
tend look to their superiors for guidance. This goes both for general clothing right down to the
tiny details. You can’t get mad at Joe in accounting for his tie not being straight if your shirt
is not tucked!

PROMPTNESS

If you set an 8 am sharp start time for your employees but waltz in with your Starbucks coffee
around 8:45 every morning, you are setting the expectations that the 8am start time is more of a
loose guideline than a steadfast rule. If that is how you feel and you are okay with a bit of
flexibility that is fine. But if you expect a hard start for your employees, you better be following
one yourself as well.

LANGUAGE/ETIQUETTE

If you want the workplace to be a more relaxed environment where employees are free to
converse and joke, then lighten up and jest with them from time to time. But if you want it to be
a completely professional environment, you better straighten your own laces. The same goes
for language. If you use profanity in the office, your employees will soon think it is okay for
them to do so as well.

QUALITY OF WORK

It is the hope and assumption that each and every employee gives 110% and does their job to
the best of their abilities each and every day. However, the reality is that this is another area
where people tend to look at the quality of work and standards set by their superiors as the
benchmark to hit. Take your own projects and duties seriously and execute them the way you
want your employees to, and they will quickly follow suit.

CORE VALUES AND MISSION

As a manager, you not only project the expectations and values of yourself, but of the company
as a whole. Each company should have a set mission it operates by and values it aligns itself
with. If your company core values are centred around service to others and teamwork, you
must make sure your actions are in line with these specific values so they are engrained in your
employees as well.

ENHANCING THE ORGANISATIONS IMAGE FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

2 (Medix)
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By acting in a professional manner and working as a role mode, it allows stakeholders of the
organisation and projects to view the organisation’s image in a better light than if you as the
manager were acting in a manner which was poor.

WHO ARE STAKEHOLDERS?

Stakeholders are anyone who may be affected by the activities of the project, team or
organisation.
Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives and policies.

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